This is the stage where Jack climbs the beanstalk, which appears after his mother throws the magical beans away, thinking that Jack was hoodwinked into selling the cow. In a presentation, this is the defining moment that needs to be identified and explained before an audience. When narrating a story, this is when a key character is meant to transform the life of the hero forever. Meeting the mentor realizes one’s dreams, where the protagonist might receive an object of great importance, some advice, training, or motivation from his mentor. In the case of Jack, it is the man who offers him magical beans for his cow. This is the part where the hero meets the mentor. It can resonate with people’s fears and doubts and motivate them towards an exciting storyline that they will find motivating. Refusal to call can be a great way to describe a success story to an audience. Many famous stories show the hero as demoralized and beaten down in this stage it is the part where Jack is reluctant to sell the cow to the man offering him magical beans. This is the part where the hero has doubts about his abilities. Refusal of the callĮvery hero has fears and doubts that hold them back, at least for a while. This is the part where the audience is likely to get excited and tense at the same time, where there is a sense of mystery as to how the hero might react to the situation. This is when Jack’s mother sends him to sell the cow due to the family’s financial woes, and he comes across the tempting offer to sell the cow for magical beans instead of money. You might have seen this happen in movies and novels in the form of a threat to the hero or his loved ones, an impending disaster that the hero learns about, or an incident that transforms the hero’s ordinary life with a sudden jolt. This is the part when the hero is called to the adventure. Starting with something ordinary can be a great way to make your audience relate to the hero. If you’re delivering a business presentation, an author, or even a teacher, you can use this phase to take your audience on a journey. If we are to take the example of Jack from the story Jack and the beanstalk, it is the stage when he is living an ordinary life with his mother. This is a safe place for the hero, as he lives through his ordinary life. This is where the hero is living an oblivious life, not realizing his true destiny and the adventure ahead. This Act consists of 5 stages: the ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, Meeting with the mentor, and crossing the first threshold. As an example for each stage, we will narrate the concept of the hero’s journey by comparing it to the famous fairytale, Jack and the Beanstalk.

Like all steps outlined by philosopher’s in the past, these 12 steps are also divided into three acts, namely Departure, Initiation and Return. In what is to follow, we will dig deep into the 12 steps based on Christopher Vogler’s concept of the hero’s journey. Source: Hero’s Journey Editable Diagram for PowerPoint by 12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey More recently, author and Disney screenwriter Christopher Vogler came up with 12 stages to the hero’s journey. Another professor, David Adams Leeming, and an American author, Phil Cousineau, gave their own version of 8 stages for the hero’s journey. A 20th-century American Professor of Literature, Joseph Campbell, gave 17 stages of the hero’s journey. Over the following years, there was much deliberation regarding the concept of the hero’s journey by various theorists.ĭifferent philosophers have narrated this in various stages. In 1871 anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor pointed out some of the common aspects of how a hero is narrated in stories. Whether you’re a speaker looking to impress your audience with a PowerPoint presentation or someone aiming at self-improvement, the 12 Step Guide to The Hero’s Journey can help guide you towards awakening your inner hero. Every story has a hero! And every hero has a journey to achieve a goal, avert a crisis or beat incredible odds.

Heros journey